If you have observed, you must have realised that among the eight parts of speech, verbs seem to have a lot of different usages and rules to be followed. Verbs change according to person, number, mood and tense. When you learn verbs, verb conjugation is one of the most essential topics you will have to familiarise yourself with. For the same reason, you will be introduced to what verb conjugation is, how to conjugate a verb based on person, number, mood and tense in this article. Also, check out the examples given to develop a deeper understanding of the same. Furthermore, try out the practice questions to check your understanding of verb conjugation. Conjugation of verbs is the linguistic process in which a verb changes its form in order to reflect aspects like person, number, tense, mood, etc. Changes in the verb can be by way of inflections, changes in the spelling, usage of helping verbs and so on. In simpler terms, the verb in the infinitive form is conjugated to agree with the person, number, mood and tense of the particular sentence. The term ‘verb conjugation, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as the process in which you have to “conjugate something to give the different forms of a verb, as they vary according to number, person, tense, etc.” According to the Collins Dictionary, conjugation is defined as “the act of giving the different forms of a verb according to the number of people it refers to, or according to whether it refers to the past, present, or future”, and “inflection of a verb for person, number, tense, voice, mood, etc”. As already mentioned, a verb can be conjugated with reference to the number, person, mood and tense. Now, let us take a look at how it is done in each of these cases in detail. ‘Person’ in English grammar is classified (with reference to pronouns) into three – the first person, the second person and the third person. The verb in a sentence appears in the singular or plural form according to the pronouns. Given below is a table to show you how it works. ‘Number’ refers to singular nouns and plural nouns. The table below shows how verbs are conjugated according to the number of nouns. In the English language, mood refers to the intention behind a thought and the manner in which it is expressed in a sentence. The verb in a sentence takes different conjugated forms based on this attribute too. Take a look at the following table and examples given below to understand how the verb is conjugated according to the mood of the sentence. Shut down the system after you finish your work. If you want to leave early, you should finish your work soon. May your life be filled with love and joy. If I were here, I would have helped you figure out a solution to this. The teacher demanded the students submit their assignments before going home. I doubt if she was, in fact, appointed to take care of all this. There are twelve different tenses in the English language and the verb is different with each tense. Take a look at the table below to see how verbs are conjugated in accordance with the various tenses. I/You/We/They have been reading ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’. He/She has been reading ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’. I/He/She had been at the railway station around 5 p.m. We/They had been at the railway station around 5 p.m. I/He/She had been waiting at the railway station since 5 p.m. We/They had been waiting at the railway station since 5 p.m. I/You/He/She/We/They will be participating in the essay writing competition. I/You/He/She/We/They will have participated in the essay writing competition. I/You/He/She/We/They will have been participating in the essay writing competition. Now that you have seen the many ways in which verbs are conjugated, why not check if you have understood and comprehended them well. Go through the following sentences and fill in the blanks with the correct conjugated form of the verb given in brackets. 3. If you were the leader, the situation ________ (be) better. 4. My father demanded I ________ (attend) the youth retreat. 5. You ________ (be) good at multitasking unlike your sister. 6. Only if you eat well, you ________ (be) able to stay active throughout the day. 7. ________ (close) the windows and doors when you come down. 10. All youngsters ________ (use) social media applications regularly. Check if you have conjugated the verbs accurately by referring to the answers given below. 3. If you were the leader, the situation would be better. 4. My father demanded I attend the youth retreat. 5. You are good at multitasking unlike your sister. 6. Only if you eat well, will you be able to stay active throughout the day. 7. Close the windows and doors when you come down. Verb conjugation is the linguistic process in which a verb changes its form in order to suit the subject. In simpler terms, the verb in the infinitive form is conjugated to agree with the person, number, mood and tense of the particular sentence. The term ‘verb conjugation, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as the process in which you have to “conjugate something to give the different forms of a verb, as they vary according to number, person, tense, etc.” According to the Collins Dictionary, conjugation is defined as “the act of giving the different forms of a verb according to the number of people it refers to, or according to whether it refers to the past, present, or future”, and “inflection of a verb for person, number, tense, voice, mood, etc”. A student or any English language learner should learn verb conjugation in order to use the verb in accordance with the person, number, tense and mood of the sentence. It is also essential to help you write meaningful sentences. The simple past tense of verbs are formed generally by adding ‘ed’ or ‘d’ to the end of the verb. However, there are verbs that do not follow the general rule. For those irregular verbs, conjugation is done by making minor changes in the spelling of the root verb. There are also some verbs which have completely different spellings to represent the past tense. Keep the glasses on the second rack of the shelf.